What Are You Going To Do With All Those Footloose Kids

For the past two decades, juveniles in Washington have been allowed to run away from home and pretty much live how and where they want.

Meanwhile, a compassionate society has been busy stringing up a safety net to protect youngsters from the risks that used to prevent some kids from escaping abusive situations - but also discouraged others from merely adventurous rebellion.

Washington is one of the states where the carefree life of the Huck Finn wannabes is under reconsideration, however. Various proposals in the Legislature would let authorities detain runaways and either take them home or put them in residential crisis centers - at least for a few days. One bill would provide for up to a year in juvenile detention for chronic cases.

Parents’ rights? Kids’ rights? What’s in the balance here? Phone or fax your thoughts to us and on Thursday we’ll publish representative comments on this issue and the two raised below.

You must pay the rent; I can’t pay the rent

A Spokane landlord whose North Side rancher had been trashed by recently departed tenants is justifiably angry. Who wouldn’t be? It’s costing him about $2,500.

But, as an article Sunday noted, the incident isn’t isolated in the current housing market.

An advocate for the needy says a landlord-tenant war is fueled by soaring rental rates. The landlord says too many people are trying to live beyond their means.

Problem is, there’s a desperate shortage of housing within the means of the low-income. But that’s no justification for the wanton behavior depicted in Sunday’s article; believe it or not, it’s possible to sympathize with landlords, too.

Will the governor’s mystery lawyer sign in, please

Gov. Mike Lowry can hardly be accused of dodging the sexual harassment allegations made against him by a former deputy press secretary. He’s supplied more details than she has.

Still, the internal investigation his office is conducting is assigned to an unpaid private attorney who initially wasn’t named. Keeping her anonymous undermined the governor’s stated intent to have a credible, independent examination of his conduct. Now that it turns out that Mary Alice Theiler was a campaign backer doesn’t help any.

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